It was the Lady Seahawks’ fifth loss in seven games, but Coach Brian Blethen is seeing steady improvement in his young squad. On Jan. 26, Medomak Valley beat Boothbay Region in schoolgirl basketball, 73-41, in Waldoboro. In the rematch, Medomak was on the verge of another lopsided victory leading, 22-11, midway through the third quarter before the Boothbay offense found its groove. Senior Glory Blethen scored eight of her 20 points in the first quarter, but the Lady Seahawks struggled to score in the second quarter until midway through the third. Blethen connected on a long 3-pointer bringing the Lady Seahawks to within three points, but in the end, Medomak Valley’s experience and depth were too much. The Lady Panthers won a hard fought, 42-33, victory in Boothbay Harbor. 

Despite the loss, Coach Blethen praised his players for showing resilience against a strong Class A foe which improved to 6-1 this season. Blethen’s squad has three players who played on last year’s Class C South runners-up team: Seniors Glory Blethen and Kylie Brown and junior Jaelyn Crocker. Besides inexperience, Boothbay Region has a short bench with only three substitutes. 

“I’m so proud of these girls. They have improved so much, and faced overwhelming defensive pressure tonight, and responded with a great effort,” Blethen said. Despite the loss, Boothbay started strong as Glory Blethen scored eight of the team’s 10 first quarter points as the Lady Seahawks led early, 10-6. But Medomak Valley’s pressure on-ball defense wore the Lady Seahawks down. Boothbay only scored one point in the second quarter and trailed 18-11 at halftime. In the third quarter, Medomak expanded its lead to 22-11, and it looked like Boothbay Region was heading for another defeat. 

But Boothbay Region’s offense sparked as junior Jaelyn Crocker hit two mid-range jumpers and converted on a couple offensive rebounds. Crocker scored 11 points, but the rally’s big shot occurred when Blethen launched a long 3-pointer. She connected a 21-foot shot to bring the Lady Seahawks within three points. Crocker said the team struggled mostly due to Medomak’s on-ball pressure, but there was also something extra special about the Feb. 15 game. “When Glory hit the three, it was her 1,000th point. I think we all struggled a bit with the pressure, and once she made it, it helped us,” he said. 

Coach Blethen was also pleased to see Crocker exert herself on the offense end. “We want her to be as offensive minded as possible. That is our goal for the rest of the season,” he said. Coach Blethen also praised his point guard Brown who scored one point, but had the challenging assignment of directing the offense against a rugged defense. “Kylie does whatever we ask her,” he said. “She has done that all four years. I can’t say enough good things about her.”

Despite a losing record, Glory Blethen wasn’t surprised her team rallied against a tough foe. “I would go anywhere with these girls. Our offense wasn’t working for a while, but we pulled it together,” she said. The Lady Panthers were led in scoring by Abby Lash with 17 points, Autumn Ripley with eight and Addison McCormick with six.